Gold Corp. Received Mining Lease from Governor

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Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX:TSX; GOLD:NYSE) announced in a press release that the company has received a special mining lease from Governor General Bob Dabae. The press release specified that this lease would allow Barrick to begin production at the New Porgera gold mine again after a 3-year period of maintenance on the property. In order to procure this lease, the company reported that it signed an agreement with the government that included the expectation that the company would compensate land owners, a fiscal stability agreement, and a mining development contract.

Mark Bristow, the President and CEO of the company, commented that "it's been a long road, but the end is now in sight. Negotiations between Barrick, the government, and the other stakeholders required patience and persistence, but the spirit of partnership in which they were conducted eventually led to an outcome acceptable to all. Barrick's commitment to partnership with its host countries is also reflected in NPL's ownership structure, which ensures the equitable sharing of the value created by Porgera with all stakeholders."

An Upbeat Mood

Rick Mills of Ahead of the Herd weighed in on the copper market in October of 2022, where he predicted a widening gap between supply and demand for copper as a result of the growing need for clean energy.

Adrian Day included a review of Barrick in a report from October 15, 2023, and rated the company as a "Buy" for potential investors.

Mills stated that "a major rise in copper demand from new ‘blacktop' infrastructure . . . combined with high demand for copper from large-scale efforts on behalf of governments to decarbonize and electrify, is not being met with adequate supply." As a result, copper is increasingly scarce compared to global need, he concluded.

Global Analyst Adrian Day provided insight into the gold market as of September of 2023 after attending two major mining conferences.

He observed that the mood of the conference was positive and that "many of the juniors were looking to raise funds; at least eight of the companies with whom I met were looking to raise money now or before the end of the year."

A Future Top Ten Copper Producer

Adrian Day included a review of Barrick in a report from October 15, 2023, and rated the company as a "Buy" for potential investors. He commented on the company's recent business agreement that "Barrick and its partner Zijin will own 49% of the mine and be the operator. Barrick's share of production could be as much as 250,000 ounces per year, making it the company's tenth largest mine."

Barrick Gold has a number of catalysts, including that it expects to see over 5.5 Moz of gold and copper by 2026 and that it is expecting to commence construction by 2025, with an expansion of the company's processing plant and site infrastructure following the same year.

Day also included a review of the company in his assessment of the gold industry following recent industry conferences, where he commented that "there is tremendous leverage in the copper assets to higher prices. Both Reko Diq, the new copper project in Pakistan, and Lumwana will be in the world's top ten copper producers by the end of the decade."

Technical Analyst Clive Maund rated the company positively in a list of junior mining companies, predicting a slightly bullish outcome for Barrick since it has "broken out of the corrective downtrend and completed an intermediate base pattern above the lower boundary of the big uptrend channel and is now embarking on a significant intermediate uptrend that could see it ascend to the top of the big channel."

Barrick Gold has a number of catalysts to report in its investor presentation, including that it expects to see over 5.5 Moz of gold and copper by 2026 and that it is expecting to commence construction by 2025, with an expansion of the company's processing plant and site infrastructure following the same year.

Ownership and Share Structure

Reuters provided a breakdown of the company's ownership and share structure. Management and insiders own approximately 0.64% of the company, reports Reuters.

President and CEO Dennis Mark Bristow owns 0.34% of the company with 6.01 million shares. Executive Chairman John Lawson Thorton owns 0.16% of the company with 2.74 million shares. Senior Executive Vice-President and CFO Graham Patrick Shuttleworth owns 0.04% of the company with 0.63 million shares. Executive Vice President Talent Management Darian Kevin Rich owns 0.02% of the company. Metallurgy, Engineering, and Capital Projects Executive John Steele owns 0.01% of the company with 0.24 million shares. Senior Vice President of Strategic Matters Kevin James Thomson owns 0.01% of the company with 0.24 million shares. Senior VP Operations & Technical Excellence Gregory Alan Pool Walker owns 0.01% of the company with 0.23 million shares. COO of Latin America & Asia Pacific Mark Francis Hill owns 0.01% of the company with 0.23 million shares. Mineral Resource Management and Evaluation Executive Rodney Burton Quick owns 0.01% of the company with 0.19 million shares. Executive of Corporate Communications Lois Vaness Wark owns 0.01% of the company with 0.18 million shares. Non-Executive Chairman Christopher Lewis Coleman owns 0.01% of the company with 0.12 million shares, and Executive of Commercial & Supply Chain Riaan Grobler owns 0.01% of the company with 0.11 million shares.

24.34% of the company is held by institutional investors. Van Eck Associates Corporation owns 4.29% of the company with 75.22 million shares. The Vanguard Group, Inc. owns 3.47% of the company with 60.88 million shares. The Wellington Management Company, LLP, owns 2.68% of the company with 47.07 million shares. Capital World Investors owns 2.58% of the company with 45.24 million shares. First Eagle Investment Management, LLC, owns 2.41% of the company with 42.24 million shares. BlackRock Investment Management (UK) LLC, owns 2.13% of the company with 37.41 million shares. Flossback von Storch AG owns 1.97% of the company with 34.59 million shares. Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC owns 1.85% of the company with 32.53 million shares. Fidelity Investments Canada ULC owns 1.49% of the company with 26.11 million shares, and RBC Global Asset Management Inc. owns 1.47% of the company with 25.80 million shares.

Reuters reports that there are 1,755.47 million shares outstanding with 1,743.49 million free-float traded shares. The company has a market cap of CA$27,636.06 million, and it trades in the 52-week period between CA$13.01 and CA$20.75, said Reuters.